Gobi had been eating an apple, and all in all couldn’t have been more quiet and content with how their day was going. The day was shining, and recent threats to the range had come and gone without leaving any lasting scars. 

Gobi did not know, then and there, that their tranquility was about to be preyed upon by a most shrewd individual. 

Reynard snuck up from behind a rock and stumbled upon this acquaintance of his, and his eyes sparkled with mischief. It wasn’t so much that he purposefully intended to sow distrust, simply that he perceived the world as too dolent, too asleep to the truth that he carried in his heart of hears. He was also wise enough to know that it was the unsuspecting and the curious that were the most likely to listen; and so, he would attempt to impart his truth upon this victim which had fallen across his path.

“Gobi,” said Reynar. “I need to tell you something.” 

Gobi stopped their mastication and stared at Reynar. They didn’t reply, but they only did that because they considered replying with their mouth full to be rude. Their eyes, thankfully, said enough; Reynar urged one of Gobi’s gecko pets out of the way and sat next to them on the ground. 

“I’m only telling you this because we’re alone right now,” said Reynar. “Because it’s a secret.” 

Gobi finally swallowed their mouthful. “What sort of secret?” 

“The sort of secret that takes someone really clever to figure out. The sort of secret whom you never know who’s listening, so you should never share it to anyone you don’t trust completely.

“Oh wow.” 

“I mean it when I say no one, Gobi,” insisted Reynar. “Because, if the wrong people know that we know, we’re in big trouble.” 

“Oh… are you sure that it is all right saying it, then?” 

“Are you insinuating that you wouldn’t be trustworthy?” 

“No, no, I am, but if you get in trouble for knowing the secret, doesn’t that mean that the secret is like… not allowed?” 

“Oh, it is most certainly illegal, don’t get me wrong,” said Reynar, pressing his paws against his chest. “But it’s not illegal because it’s morally wrong. It’s illegal because it serves Fenroos in high places… Fenroos with power.” 

“Like the head of mobilities?” 

“Yes, exactly like the head of mobilities,” said Reynar. “And that’s why that should be the last ones you talk to about this, if at all, because they might be in the know.” 

Gobi was intrigued now, it was obvious that Reynar had them in the palm of their paw. He smirked knowingly, because Reynar was the sort that enjoyed this sort of power; power over the minds and the attention of others. Reynar thought of himself as a spreader of truth, but the reality of the matter was that he had his own dark sides, and he wasn’t even looking at them as bad sides himself. 

Gobi scooted closer. Despite their apprehensions, they were most certainly intrigued themselves. They hoped that it had something to do with bugs, or other critters; perhaps some sort of forbidden critter was involved? One that was venomous and therefore dangerous; this was the best Gobi could come up with. 

“Let us say that you had a secret to become very powerful,” said Reynar. “Let’s say… have the power of a god. Something incredible, right?” 

“Like the power to fly?” 

“More than just flying,” said Reynar. “The power to command the land. Yes, that will do. Imagine you could… order bugs to come out of the earth as you want.” 

Gobi’s eyes sparkles, their smile widened. Reynar patted their head because they thought that Gobi was very cute; such a simple soul to please needed to be protected. 

But not from the truth, according to Reynar. 

“Would you share it with others?” he asked. 

“Oh, if they want it, yes,” said Gobi. “I’d share that power with anyone that wants it.” 

“Well, you would be wrong to do that. In fact, that’s how you lose your power.” 

“Huh? Why?” 

“Because you can’t call more bugs if they are no more bugs in the earth, and the first person that wants all that power to themselves will be sure to drain those reserves as fast as they can do that no one else have it.” 

“What? But why?” 

“Because people are greedy, Gobi. Not everyone is as nice as you are.” 

“But… they got to know to be nice. Wasn’t that taught to them?” 

“By their parents? Well, if they are good parents, yes. But when you’re an adult, and you want something, your parents aren’t around anymore to punish you. There’s the law, of course, but if you have power…” 

“It’s just the power to call bugs.” 

“I’m talking about power that goes even beyond that. Power that goes even further than bugs, power that allows you to be stronger than everyone else that might come after you.” 

“But if I give that power to everyone else, then everyone is equally strong.” 

“I— sure. Yes, that is true. I guess what I’m trying to say that you don’t want to give power to people that will use it for their personal gain, no? And bad people would hide that they are bad people from you, they would lie that they would use that power you’re giving them for good when they want to be selfish. That means that there is no way to truly know if giving them to someone else is a good thing, in fact, most of the time, it’s a really bad idea. Right?” 

“I guess, if you say so…” 

“I ask you once more, then, if giving that power to everyone is a good idea?” 

“No.” 

“Good, good answer,” said Reynar, pleased. He patted Gobi on the head once more. “You’re starting to understand.” 

“What’s the secret with that?” asked Gobi. 

“I’m getting to it. We need to agree to certain principles before we continue: that power corrupts, especially any power that one would get from the Ancient.” 

“The Ancients?” 

“The Fenroo from before, Gobi. The ones that created the Great Fires. You know the ones, right?” 

Gobi scratched their head. They weren’t too sure that they knew what Reynar was talking about, they had only studied a little of that. It had happened such a long time ago, really, that they weren’t quite sure that it was important anymore… well, it DID explain a lot of things about how the world was the way it was, of course, like for example if Gobi were to wonder where the smog came from. But otherwise? The Great Fire sounded terrible and they hoped that it wouldn’t happen ever again. That was all there was to it. 

“You seem confused,” said Reynar. 

“I’m not, but… I’m not sure I know of any power,” said Gobi. “Were they good at calling bugs?” 

“I don’t know, Gobi. But didn’t you ever think that it was strange? That you never hear of what they could do? That power that they were holding?” 

“What power?” 

“Exactly. You’re telling me that there were Great Fires, that burned the entire planet to crisp, destroyed everything we were before, left only a few of us left in a tiny patch of land, and that it just… happened? Come on. Think about it. They were the ones that had that power.” 

“They are the ones that burned everything?” 

“Yes, although that must have been a mistake, of course. No one intentionally burns their entire people to crisp. Unless… they had a conflict of interest, or something like that. But that means that they had the power to burn everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, and they just hadn’t done it before. Things don’t just happen all by themselves.” 

“Wow…”

“Exactly. You start to understand. Now, you need to consider this: our mobilities leaders, what are they always talking about?”

“Erm… that you can’t go wandering on your own just because you saw something cool?” 

“No— they want to restore the land.” 

“Oh, yeah, that too.”

“And why would you want that?” 

“Because… it’s broken?” 

“No— that’s not the main reason. Because, out there in the smog, there’s the power the Ancients once had. The power to destroy everything - or create.” 

“But— they never told me that.” 

“Silly.” Reynar snorted. “What did I say before? They wouldn’t tell you that, they wouldn’t share with you.” 

“Why not? I wouldn’t take all the bugs, bugs are important for the ground.” 

“Because they are the ones that want to keep it all for themselves. It’s not that they don’t think you’re a good person, Gobi. It’s that they want the power. Because, if everyone has power… no one really has power now, do they?” 

Gobi thought about it for a moment, but it made perfect sense - that if everyone had power, then no one really did, because they might as well be equal. They nodded as they came to this conclusion themselves. 

“There’s still something I don’t understand,” Gobi said. 

“What is it?”

“What’s the goal? Why would they want that power for themselves?” 

“That’s a good question, but we can’t know for sure,” said Reynar. “Personally, I think that they want to be rulers of the new world. The world will be bigger and a better place, and so there will be more Fenroos living in it— and they can be sure that they will remain at the top.” 

“Well, if they are nice people…” Gobi had a thought for the leader of their mobility, and they thought that they were quite nice. They wouldn’t mind if that Fenroo had a little more power. “I don’t think it’s a problem.” 

“But what if it is?” said Reynar. “It takes one to ruin it for everyone. For the Great Fires to come back.” 

“Oh...” 

“Yeah. You really want to let them get away with that?” 

“No…” 

“That’s why we need to be on the lookout for that sort of power too. Like that, we can grab it for ourselves and destroy it before it’s too late… or at least make sure that no one else can reach it for a while longer.” 

“That sounds like a lot of responsibilities,” said Gobi. “I’m not sure that I’m ready for that.” 

“You don’t have to be right now, I don’t think we’re anywhere near figuring this one out. But it is important to keep an eye out. Would you rather be able to know before, and act while you can, or would you rather be had?” 

“I… I would rather act while I can, I think.” 

“Yes,” said Reynar, “that’s the correct attitude to have. I’m telling you all of this because I know you’ll do the right thing if you ever see something. You’re actually a good person, Gobi.” 

Gobi grinned, all worries scrubbed by the idea that Reynar had seen that about them. And Reynar smiled back with delight, before rubbing Gobi’s head once more. 

“I got to run,” said Reynar. “After all, I’m on a schedule. But if we see each other alone some other time, I can try and gather some evidence and show it to you, so that you know.” 

And he was off, just as he said, after having waved his friend - and their pets - goodbye. 

Gobi thought about what Reynard had said for a few days, a little perturbed by his words. They didn’t discuss it with anyone, of course, but perhaps that was why it took them so long to come to the conclusion that Reynar was, in fact, completely bonkers in their conclusion. After all, Gobi trusted that the people around them were good people, people that wouldn’t cause them harm even if they had power beyond comprehension. Then, around that time, they learned about Aspects and how they might have helped caused the Calamity from Johnno. This was the last piece of evidence they needed to disprove everything Reynar had said to them. 

Reynar never approached Gobi with the evidence he promised.